Currently available lighting techniques are designed to address a variety of problems yet still exhibit a number of deficiencies. Prior examples of photographic light diffusers and deflectors may be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,311,409, 5,839,006, and 7,380,966, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Diffuse lighting accessories are photography devices commonly used to provide soft lighting effects in photographs. To achieve a diffuse lighting effect, light can be either directly or indirectly passed through a semi-transparent material, or it may be reflected off a material which will cause it to scatter somewhat. Such diffuse lighting is commonly produced by light sources which are remote from the camera. Typically, such light diffusers are provided by stationary screens, umbrellas, soft boxes and the like. Such devices provide excellent lighting effects in fixed studio settings where there is no need to transport the lighting equipment including the diffusers from place to place.
Each particular shot to be lighted dictates the type and intensity of light needed to properly illuminate the subject. In some situations direct light from a light source without any alteration may be required. In other situations direct lighting may be too strong or cast overly distinct shadows, in which case a more diffuse light is desirable. In still other cases, an even more indirect diffuse light may be needed to create the proper lighting effect. It is important to have a certain amount of uniformity in the lighting used to illuminate the subject. This uniformity may be achieved using typical stationary diffusers provided that the equipment is of good quality and is employed in the proper fashion.
A photojournalist or event photographer may be required to generate images under potentially very difficult lighting conditions, requirements and time constraints. Often, moving subjects may offer additional complications, such as when a celebrity or other person shakes a hand and moves along, potentially continuously or intermittently.
Furthermore, existing on-camera flash units offer a very small and portable light source, but potentially generate extremely harsh lighting, thereby resulting in potentially unflattering pictures. Photographers have tried to resolve this issue by softening the small light source in any number of manners, such as with reflectors or diffusers. However, the problem of such a small light source offering a harsh, flat appearance still remains.
While the equipment described above provides good lighting effects in a fixed studio setting, it can be inconvenient if not impossible to use such stationary lighting accessories outside of the photography studio. For shoots which require the photographer to be mobile, especially shoots where the photographer must capture action shots or cannot otherwise pose his subject, a small portable diffuser may be used which attaches directly to the camera itself. Such a light diffuser may be placed directly over an on-camera flash to provide a semi-transparent barrier to clear light transmission. Known diffusers exist which are small and portable with the camera and flash itself, and these diffusers are used by photographers in shoots where it is impractical to employ fixed lighting equipment. However, known portable diffusers for use with on-camera flashes are less than ideal in terms of the quality of lighting produced. These diffusers tend to create hotspots and may also leave noticeable, undesirable shadows. Furthermore, such diffusers do not allow for light to be directed in one or another desired direction from such a portable light source.
Existing flashcard attachments, such as reflectors or bounce cards which are stationary on the flash, may hinder the photographer from creating different quality directional lighting. The appearance of lighting on the subject of a photograph is relatively fixed to a single presentation based upon the method and direction of connection of such reflector or bounce card. Thus, the photographer is generally unable to modify a lighting presentation without a potentially lengthy and time consuming sequence of events.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a method and apparatus that overcome the drawbacks of the prior art.